Page 84 of Catch and Release

Willa laughed and handed the fish to Charlie, then grabbed her phone from her pocket and snapped a photo as Charlie beamed.

“This thing is slimy. Can I put it down now?”

“Toss it in the cooler,” Willa said.

“How can you tell it’s a red fish?” Charlie asked, holding it underneath the light of a lantern near the cooler.

“It’s got a black dot on its tail. See?” Willa went over to where Charlie was and pointed to it.

“Cool,” Charlie said. “At least I learned something. That’s the first and last time I’ll be fishing. I was made for inside activities only.”

Willa laughed and glanced at Shawn. His heart fluttered at the way her eyes twinkled at him, and he felt the desperate need to kiss her. Of course, it’d be a few days until he could come over. She’d warned him that they probably wouldn’t hook up while Charlie was in town so she could maximize time with her best friend. Shawn understood, of course, but he already felt the lack of her.

“Nice job, Charlie,” Shawn said gruffly, his eyes never leaving Willa.

24

“You’re sure this isn’t too revealing?”

Willa stood in front of the full-size mirror in her bathroom, staring at her reflection. She and Charlie had ordered a few Rent the Runway dresses to choose from, and she’d landed on a floor-length, silver dress that hugged her curves. It had off-the-shoulder sleeves and a low-cut V that showed off just enough cleavage. The slit in the side of the dress left her leg on display, and she wore black stilettos with a bow on the back. Her hair was pulled up in a loose up-do, with curls framing her face.

“Does it matter?” Charlie asked. “It’s a bunch of old people and your fuck buddy.”

“It matters,” Willa said. “I’ll never hear the end of it from Ida if I dress inappropriately.”

Charlie stepped into the bathroom wearing a sparkling, gold dress with a plunging neckline. She wore gold heels and curled her hair.

“You look hot and classy,” Charlie said. “It can be both! Like one of the contestants on The Bachelorette.”

“Okay, not helpful.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, anyway,” Charlie checked her watch. “You don’t have time to change. They’ll be here any minute.”

Before Shawn left last night, he’d offered to give them a ride to the Ball. Charlie agreed before Willa could say anything, but she figured it was for the best. While Bingo nights were typically held at the church down the road, the Bingo Ball was held at a local hotel. It was slowly becoming clear to Willa that this event was much more extravagant than she expected.

And she couldn’t help but hope Shawn liked her dress.

She tried to squash the hope—push it away.

He wasn’t her boyfriend.

Just her friend.

With occasional, very amazing benefits.

She shouldn’t care what he thought.

Except she did, and she hoped he would nearly pass out from how good she looked. Because even though she wasn’t sure if she was dressed appropriately enough, she knew one thing for certain: she looked hot as fuck.

Her phone buzzed and a quick look at it told her it was Shawn.

“He’ll be here in a minute,” Willa said. “Let’s head out front.”

Looked like she was stuck wearing this dress. They both grabbed their clutches and headed to the driveway, where they waited for only a moment before Shawn’s truck pulled in.

He got out of the car and stopped in his tracks as he stared at Willa. The breath whooshed out of her as his steely gaze caught hers. His eyes dropped slowly—ever so slowly—down the length of her body. Willa felt hot under his scrutiny, like every inch his eyes touched were on fire. His eyes drifted back up the length of her body just as slowly, and he stilled once he reached her face again.

She’d barely registered that he was wearing a tux. The white shirt and jacket pulled tightly against his chest and arms, and the fit of the pants was perfectly tailored to his muscled legs. And he was clean shaven. He must’ve just shaved. He did so every few days, Willa had noticed. It was enough that a bit of stubble was always on his face, and she liked it. But tonight, the way Shawn had shaven perfectly showed off the chiseled jawline she loved so much. His hair was pulled tight into a bun toward the top of his head, and her mouth watered as she drank in the sight of him.

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